Bulgarian refugee centres have exceeded their maximum capacity by over 20%. Both “Pastrogor” and the Busmantsi refugee camp are filled with people. More than 420 individuals are now housed there, despite its 300-person capacity. Such a burden hasn’t existed in the past two to three years. They claimed that due to the constant workload, there is already tension among the staff.
Over the past ten days, there were so many incidents of illegal immigration; dozens of refugees got caught in various provinces of Bulgaria. These incidents disturb the peace and order in Bulgaria. The incident in Burgas is an example of how dangerous the results can be if strict countermeasures are not taken to stop these illegal migrations.
Two policemen were killed in Burgas trying to stop the bus carrying 47 refugees from Turkey. The bus ran over the Police car and later hit a bus stop. The driver himself was a Macedonian migrant who disobeyed the police orders and refused to stop the bus at two checkpoints.
The incident raises questions and doubts about Border control police taking bribes, forcing the government to take strict countermeasures against illegal migrants. Since the Burgas conflict, Police have been more alert than usual, and many foreigners have been caught.
Staff workers complained, “At any one time, detained migrants are brought here from various locations across the nation; nearly all of them are under 30, and more than 95% of them are male. Most people among them do not speak any Western languages. Some of them rarely speak any western language. Some speak French too. They force us to write reports and explanations for simple things, and we must wait months for approval, even for $25 spare parts”.
In order to accommodate more people in the southern town of Lyubimets, the interior ministry declared that the government would construct specialised housing for the temporary residence of foreigners equipped-containers. Together, these “containers” have room for more than 1,232 people.